The Story of Jane
Radio Diaries
Radio Diaries & Radiotopia
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 5 May 2022
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Before the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, abortion was illegal throughout most of the country. But that doesn't mean women didn't get them.
In 1965, an underground network formed in Chicago to help pregnant women get abortions. At first, they connected women with doctors willing to break the law to perform the procedure. Eventually, they were trained and began performing abortions themselves. The group called itself “Jane.” Over the years, Jane performed more than 11,000 first and second trimester abortions.
This story first aired in 2018.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | RadioTopia. |
| 0:04.7 | From PRX. |
| 0:06.5 | From PRX's Radiotopia, this is Radio Diaries. |
| 0:09.5 | I'm Joe Richmond. |
| 0:10.5 | Good evening. |
| 0:11.7 | Tonight, the subject of abortion. |
| 0:14.3 | The illegal termination of pregnancy has reached epidemic proportions in this country. |
| 0:18.5 | That's Walter Cronkite on CBS in 1965. |
| 0:22.5 | At that time, abortion was illegal everywhere in the United States. |
| 0:26.8 | But that didn't mean that women didn't have them. |
| 0:29.4 | The conflict between the law and reality has resulted in a national dilemma. |
| 0:33.8 | Abortion will continue to be a critical problem. |
| 0:36.7 | And for those involved may call for desperate |
| 0:39.0 | decisions that result in dangerous medical complications. |
| 0:43.0 | Hundreds of women were dying each year in botched abortions. |
| 0:46.5 | In 1965, an underground network formed in Chicago to help women who wanted to have abortions |
| 0:51.5 | in a medically safe way. |
| 0:53.6 | They called themselves Jane. At first, |
| 0:56.1 | they connected women with doctors willing to break the law to perform the procedure, but eventually |
| 1:00.6 | women in the collective trained to perform abortions themselves. Today on the Radio Diaries podcast, |
| 1:06.9 | The Story of Jane. And a heads up, this story includes some graphic descriptions that may not be appropriate for all listeners. |
| 1:14.3 | My name is Winette Willis. |
... |
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